This invention relates generally to orthodontic treatment and more particularly to a lingual orthodontic bracket and method of making same.
Orthodontic treatment of teeth is accomplished by applying force to the teeth with a spring-resilient archwire positioned in the channels in attachments on the teeth which are called brackets. Since the beginning of orthodontics in the late 1800's, orthodontists have been pursuing the goals of increased appliance resiliency and increased appliance control.
Edward H. Angle is considered the father of modern orthodontics. Angle's U.S. Pat. No. 678,453 shows a rigid outer archwire with teeth tied to the archwire to draw them into position (FIG. 1). The bands on the teeth were attachments which were really simple cleats. In 1925 in U.S. Pat. No. 1,584,501, Angle added a rectangular slot to the bracket with wings to receive tiewires (FIGS. 2 and 3). Because the slot was perpendicular to the long axis of the tooth, it was called the edgewise appliance. The initial heavy archwire was bent to the shape of the malocclusion and was gradually straightened out. This device produced very precise control but was extremely rigid and non-resilient.
Also in 1925, Angle was issued U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,413, which disclosed a bracket designed to receive a rectangular archwire that was called a ribbon arch because the long axis of the archwire cross section was in the same plane as the long axis of the tooth. This bracket was locked with a pin which was held in place by bending the pin after it was inserted in its locking position. This bracket was later used by Spencer Atkinson and was developed into what was known as the "Universal Technique" (FIG. 4). Atkinson's art was taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,821,171; 2,196,516; and 2,305,916.
This same bracket was modified by Dr. P. R. Begg and was used extensively in what is called the "Begg Technique." Begg's modifications are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,128,553. Dr. Angle's edgewise bracket has evolved into the "Edgewise Technique" which is the most commonly used technique today.
Typically, the archwire is secured in the archwire slot using an elastic O-ring or a wire ligature wrapped around wings extending laterally on opposite sides of the slot. An edgewise bracket can be augmented to provide traction hooks while assisting in securing the archwire in the archwire slot as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,001 to Klein. It is also known to use a retaining spring clip over the archwire slot in an edgewise bracket as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,094 to Kesling; U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,999 to Rosenberg; and the ORMCO Catalog, page 27 (1992). U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,573 to Hanson discloses a bracket which has an additional slot extending transversely under the archwire slot to slidably receive one leg of a spring clip while a second or external leg extends over one side of the bracket and has a distal end that protrudes into the archwire slot to hold the archwire.
To this evolution was incorporated the use of a number of archwires beginning with relatively small diameter round wires and finishing with the large rectangular edgewise wire. This progression of archwires provided a tremendous increase in resiliency. It also forced the orthodontist to go through a number of laborious archwire changes. To further increase the resiliency of the archwires, orthodontists incorporated all sorts of geometric bends in almost every conceivable shape (FIG. 5). These bends increased the resiliency but they decreased the amount of control. One example of lack of control is what is known as a closing loop. Closing loops are used to close space. They consist of a U-shaped bend which is activated when it is spread out and held in the spread-out manner by bending the wire or tying back the wire in a stop position against the molar teeth. This certainly does close space but also tips teeth rather than moving them bodily.
One of the more extreme configurations is described by Alan C. Brader in U.S. Pat. No. 3, 593,421. This configuration called the multi-helical omni arch is basically an archwire with a series of coil spring bends incorporated between each teeth (FIG. 6). This certainly increased the resiliency of the archwire but it also decreased the amount of control available. To provide increased resiliency and still maintain control, orthodontists sometimes turned to multiple archwire fitting in multiple slots in the brackets. Atkinson's modifications of Johnson's ribbon arch bracket incorporating two archwires were mentioned above. This technique evolved into the Universal Technique which was used by a small but very enthusiastic group of professionals.
Another approach was described by Joseph Johnson in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,952,320; 2,665,480 and 2,759,265. Johnson incorporated two small diameter archwires held together in a ribbon arch configuration with the long axis going through the two wires parallel to the long axis of the tooth (FIG. 7). U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,288 to Tepper discloses a another two-wire bracket arrangement using two parallel spaced apart crossbars interconnected by a rigid member.
The problem with all two wire techniques is the difficulty in putting in compensating bends. In theory, if the bracket of a tooth is put on the tooth in such a position that the channel of the bracket is in an ideal position, a straight archwire placed in this channel would reduce a tooth positioned in the ideal position. In actual practice, this does not happen. In the earlier days of orthodontics, the brackets were put on perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the orthodontic band. To compensate for the fact that this is not necessarily the ideal position, the orthodontist had to make compensating bends in the arch.
This problem was addressed by Dr. Larry Andrews by methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,477,128 and 3,660,900. Andrews attempted to position the slots in the bracket in such a relation to the base of the bracket that was applied to the tooth so that the slot assumed the ideal position in the average tooth. Since these brackets were generally put on the tooth by the orthodontist in the mouth using the orthodontist trained eye, errors in position were inevitable. Also, not all teeth are average and this also increases errors, so the orthodontist today must still finish cases with compensating bends.
Another twin arch approach is described by J. D. Berke in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,406,527 and 2,705,367. Berke described a bracket which is essentially a button with two channels separated by the body of the bracket (FIG. 8). Two archwires were connected by rigid connectors between the two teeth. In one situation, the connectors were fixed and in another situation, they were slidable. The archwire was connected to the tooth by pulling the two archwires away from each other and snapping the two archwires over the bracket. The archwires returning to shape aligned the tooth. The fact that the connectors were rigid made this system very difficult to use in actual practice. It was never produced in any significant quantity commercially.
Another attempt at attaining precision with two wires was described by Northcott in U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,850. Northcott connected two and three archwires together with interarch connectors (FIG. 9). These connectors were rigid cast or brazed metal, both fixed and slidable. This rigid system was tied into corresponding slots in the labial bracket. Like Andrews, Northcott tried to eliminate the necessity for compensating bends by building the archwire slots in such a position that they were in the ideal position in the average tooth. Again, this had the problems of the Andrews system. Teeth are not always average and the operator cannot always get the bracket on the tooth in the ideal position using his eye alone. A disadvantage of Northcott's system over Andrews' system is the complete inability to put any compensating bends in the arch if the need arises.
The recently introduced NiTi wires, which are an alloy of nickel and titanium, are extremely more resilient than stainless steel. The disadvantage of these wires is the inability to readily bend the archwires. Nickel titanium archwires are usually held into shape and heat treated. This is commonly done today in the factory using preformed shapes. No compensating bends are really possible.
A number of attempts have been made to adapt the edgewise technique to lingual orthodontics. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,908 to Kurz. A bracket based on this design as made and sold by ORMCO Corporation of Glendora, Calif. is shown in the ORMCO Catalog, page 27 (1993). The archwire is secured in this bracket by means of tie wires or elastomer O-rings. In practice, it has been found necessary to use a double-tie arrangement, with the O-rings doubled back on themselves in order to apply enough force from the O-ring to properly seat archwire in the archwire slot. Orthodontists complain that this procedure is difficult and inefficient.
Dr. Alexander J. Wildman has previously developed lingual orthodontic methods and brackets as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,748,740; 3,780,437; 3,842,503; 3,854,207; 4,443,189; 4,494,931; and 5,474,444. U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,189 mentions the possibility of mounting a second or auxiliary archwire on the bracket but requires threading the second wire through the slot so its use is limited to the attachment of auxiliaries.
The lingual bracket of U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,189 has a sidable and hinged closure member that does not rely solely on the forces of the O-ring to secure the archwire in the archwire slot but also has a couple limitations. It is complicated to manufacture and requires close tolerances in its manufacture to maintain the closure dimension. The relationship of the closure member's distal end portion to the archwire slot is critical when pivoting to a closed position as shown in FIG. 2 of the patent. If the pivot position, or the tolerances of its shape, are not sufficiently precise, then the closure member's distal end portion can either close not snugly enough against the archwire or so snugly as to bind against the archwire.
Wildman has also taught a way to very accurately place the brackets on the teeth using what he calls the direct-indirect technique in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,735. Wildman also teaches a method of custom heat treating the nickel titanium archwires into an ideal shape for each individual patient, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,011,406; 5,100,316; and Pat. No. 5,295,886. This shaping method opens up a number of possibilities for very complicatedly-shaped archwires which would not need compensating bends placed by the operator.
Dr. Wildman also published a history of development of lingual orthodontia and ideas for advanced lingual orthodontia including a recommended lingual bracket with a hinged closure member (FIG. 14) in "The Future of Lingual Orthodontics," Orthodontics: Evaluation and Future, Proceedings of the International Conference of the Orthodontic Dept. of Univ. of Nymegen, The Netherlands, Oct. 22-24, 1987, pp. 261-280 (1988). The then proposed bracket, however, still relied heavily on the forces applied by the elastomer O-ring to the secure the closure member to the bracket body and thereby retain the archwire in a two-sided notch beneath the closure member.
Accordingly, a need remains for a simpler, easier-to-use lingual orthodontic bracket and method of manufacture.